Mock lunar lander to vie for $1m prize, despite fire

A fuel tank leak caused a fire on Thursday during an attempt by Masten Space Systems to win the Lunar Lander Challenge

(Image: W. Pomerantz/X Prize Foundation)

A fire prematurely ended a rocket team’s attempt to win a &dollar;1 million prize in the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge on Thursday. But judges have decided to give the competitor, Masten Space Systems, one more chance to compete for the purse today.

The competition is intended to promote innovative ideas for a new generation of vehicles that could land humans on the moon.

It is divided into two levels. For the lesser &dollar;350,000 level 1 prize, a rocket must rise 50 metres from its launch pad, move 100 metres horizontally and land on a concrete pad, staying in the air for a total of at least 90 seconds. It must then repeat the feat, returning to its starting point within hours. Texas-based Armadillo Aerospacewon that prize in October 2008.

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Bumpy surface

To qualify for the &dollar;1 million level 2 prize, a rocket must make a similar flight, but this time it must stay aloft for 180 seconds and land on a bumpy surface that simulates that of the moon.

Armadillo became the first team to qualify for the prize in September. Now, Masten and one other team is hoping to wrest the prize from Armadillo before the competition closes on 31 October.

Masten was offered two days to attempt the competition flights on Wednesday and Thursday, but despite repeated attempts, they were unable to get their rocket to respond to commands to launch.

The rocket was finally launched on Thursday afternoon, successfully completing one leg of flight lasting for 3 minutes. But a small fuel tank leak caused the rocket to catch fire as it landed (see a video of the flight here).

Dripping fuel

Manufacturing flaws in the fuel tank allowed alcohol to seep out and catch fire. The team will not be allowed to replace this tank, so they hope to mitigate the problem. One option is to divert any dripping fuel away from the bottom of the rocket, Graham told New Scientist on Thursday.

The vehicle’s electronics seem to be intact, and Lunar Landing Challenge judges decided to allow Masten another opportunity on Friday to make one final attempt. Similar extensions have not been afforded teams in past years.

“They’re going to give us one more shot,” Douglas Graham, a spokesperson for Masten, said late on Thursday.

Should either of Armadillo’s competitors pass the level 2 challenge, the &dollar;1 million prize will be awarded to the team that lands its craft most accurately.

The Masten team thinks this tie-breaking rule gives them a good shot at taking home 1st prize, says Graham. While Armadillo’s vehicle landed on average 90 centimetres from its target in the second-level tests, Masten’s landing accuracy on Thursday’s flight was roughly 20 centimetres.

Should Masten pass the second level and beat Armadillo’s accuracy, it is not clear whether Armadillo will get another chance to fly. Officials at the X Prize Foundation, which manages the contest, did not immediately respond to queries.

Another team, Unreasonable Rocket, will attempt both levels of the challenge on Friday and Saturday.